The Opposite of Love Isn't Hate
by Sylindara
Summary: Pulling pigtails was a sign of immaturity. Inukai never had a problem with it. That just riled Kageura up more. [Kageura/Inukai]
1. Side: Inukai

Written for the request:

 _I enjoy many of your fics. I saw in a post that you don't mind taking request, so I want to try too. I don't mind how long it may take, just want to read more about characters' interaction. It's from World Trigger: Inukai & Kageura. Not neccessary a shounen-ai/yaoi, just that I find the detail about Inukai is on-side hated interesting (don't know if it is related to Kag's SE or not). Sorry for bothering you, please ignore this if you don't feel like it. Thank you._  
 _I am the one who ask for KageInu fic the other day. After discovering you are also shipping two of them, I, well, I know I said no SA/yaoi is not neccessary, but if you can, it is just make things better! Feel free to ignore this too if you decide to refuse my request. Thanks and sorry for any inconvience._

I ended up making up a lot of stuff, just because canon hasn't really given us much interaction between them, or just much of them in general. But I am actually quite proud at how I managed to cameo pretty much every 18 year old, so no regrets there.

I do kind of regret making Kageura kind of masochistic, but it's pretty unavoidable considering his Side Effect.

* * *

In his childhood, Inukai's sisters had often told him, 'you should smile more!' 'it's a waste of such a pretty face to frown all the time!' and 'smiling doesn't cost you anything!'

As if the reason people didn't smile was because they were stingy. Inukai hadn't wanted to be stingy, and he was not a particularly moody child in the first place, so he had no problems with learning to smile and be pleasant.

It made a noticeable difference even to his young and unobservant self. People treated him differently when he smiled - they were more likely to smile back, to listen to his words, to be more accommodating than they otherwise might have been.

He grew up, lost his childish angelic looks, and the ability to charm people with just a flash of his dimples. But the habit remained. By that point he knew all about service smiles and the social game behind it, and, when it comes down to it, why not treat people nicely just because he could?

It didn't always work, of course. The world was filled with contrary people, and to them, the more he smiled the less they liked it. You couldn't please everyone, that was another thing Inukai learned.

Kageura Masato was an extreme case. A prickly individual who seemed to hold everything Inukai do in contempt; had Inukai been anyone else he might have even cared.

Today, like all the other times they met, Kageura turned a scowl his way the moment he saw Inukai sitting next to Arafune on the lounge couch. Arafune, who was well used to Kageura's attitude, rolled his eyes and said, "You're welcome to leave if you really care that little about your grades."

Kageura's scowl deepened. Anyone who had heard Nire's shrieks of despair over her team's terrible marks the past week knew that Kageura was in no position to not care about his grades. True to form, Kageura said not a word as he flopped down in a chair opposite them, smacking his bag down on the table between them with a loud bang.

Inukai immediately leaned over to poke at the open bag. "Where are your notes? You do take notes right?"

"Shut up, stupid dog, I don't answer to you. Kou's the one tutoring me," Kageura snapped, clutching the bag towards himself possessively. "What would you know anyway? You're not even in the same school!"

"We're prep schoolers, anything you're doing now we've probably already covered," Inukai pointed out, an unruffled look on his face. But he did turn back to his own open textbook.

Wonder of wonders, Kageura actually took the hint and slouched back in his seat instead of picking a fight. Out of the corner of his eye, Inukai could see him fidgeting, visibly uncomfortable from the glances being thrown their way. Perhaps it was even acting as a deterrent today. "Where are the others anyway? And why are you guys here in the first place?"

Arafune glanced at him. "Kou and Kon wanted moral support while they whip you guys into shape. And studying here's as good as anywhere else really."

Kageura narrowed his eyes at Arafune. "Why together though? You guys aren't in the same class."

Inukai couldn't help himself. "You knew what classes we're in? Why, Kage, I didn't know you cared!"

Under the table, Arafune kicked him sharply in the shin. Inukai could feel the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile and wasn't even sorry.

Predictably, Kageura leaned forward again, a snarl back on his face and a hand fisted in the front of Inukai's hoodie. "I don't give a shit about you or your class, stupid dog, so keep those emotions away from me. I don't need your condescension."

Inukai gave him a surprised look. "I would never condescend to you, Kage."

"You are so full of shit," Kageura spat at him. Then turned and looked at the growing number of faces looking their way. "And what are all of you looking at!"

"You making a scene, probably," Kon said dryly. Inukai turned towards her to see that, not just Kon, but Kunichika, Murakami, and Hokari had arrived too.

Kageura reluctantly let go of Inukai and thumped back into his seat. "What took you so long," he groused.

"Riling him up, you are," Hokari pointed out to Inukai as he took the chair at the end of the table. His expression was even, not a hint of censure in his tone.

"Are you casting aspersions on me?" Inukai asked in response, turning to his left to face Hokari fully and deliberately exaggerating his expression.

"Oh, we would never do that," Kunichika said cheerfully, not at all looking like she was about to fail class just a month into the new school year as she took the seat opposite Hokari. "We just think you guys mess around with each other a lot."

"WHAT-" Kageura started up again, clearly feeling aspersions were being cast on _him_.

"Okay, that's enough guys." Kon clapped her hands. "We're all here now, so let's study, not talk about Kageura-kun's little fixation."

"Why are you all picking on me?" Kageura bared his teeth in futility.

"We're not picking on you," Murakami said soothingly. "We just think you're really obvious. Now which topic do you want to start with?"

"Maths," Hokari piped up before Kageura could say anything.

Watching Kageura simmer down again, Inukai turned back to his textbook now that the excitement was over. He half agreed with Kageura, though he never spoke up when this topic came up - the last thing Kageura wanted was Inukai agreeing with him, about anything. But Inukai did not set out to rile Kageura up, not deliberately at least - not often, and whatever the others thought was between them, it was very one-sided on Kageura's part. Inukai himself held Kageura no ill will, he didn't blame Kageura for his Side Effect making him so twitchy. But then, that was the problem, wasn't it?

* * *

Border HQ's corridors had a reputation for being confusing, identical looking passages that made it difficult to tell where one was or where one wanted to go. It was a common rite of passage for new enlistees or workers to get lost, and the longer he's been with Border the better Inukai got at directing people to where they needed to be.

Unfortunately, some people never mastered that skill. Even before he turned the corner, Inukai could hear the sounds of Kageura making a disturbance, as usual.

In the corridor ahead, as blankly homogeneous as the five or so corridors Inukai had walked down already to get there, Kageura stood looming over a couple of C-ranks. One of them was looking down at the ground, long black bangs covering his eyes and thin hands fisted vulnerably in the jacket of his uniform; the other two were glaring at Kageura fiercely, not at all cowed by his reputation or bared teeth.

As Inukai drew closer, he could hear Kageura saying, "You got something to say? Why don't you try saying it to my fucking face?"

"Okay, I will then!" one of the glaring C-ranks shouted, flipping her pale hair back with a sharp jerk. "All we did was ask you for directions, there's no call for you acting like that!"

Kageura loomed closer. "You think I can't hear what you were saying?"

The other glaring C-rank, who had been looking just as self-righteous, went pale with shock. "But...we were using internal comms…"

The boy who had been facing down suddenly looked up, staring straight into Kageura's eyes through his bangs. "We were just saying the truth," he hissed. "Everyone knows about your temper. The only reason you haven't been kicked out yet is because you can fight. Otherwise no one would want you here!"

Emboldened by her friend's words, the girl added, "There are so many people who want to be where you are, an official Border agent, and you've even been A-rank! And you just waste it all with your tantrums!"

It was not the worst they could have said, not that it made much of a difference. Inukai quickly clamped a hand down on the shoulders of Kageura and the boy with long bangs, tightly enough to stop them both from rushing forward. "Now what's going on here?"

All three C-ranks paled to see someone else wading in, or possibly they were just scared of the expression on Kageura's face. Inukai had never seen him so angry before. There was something transcendent about it, a light in his eyes that burned. The shoulder under his hand jerked sharply, Kageura's hand coming up and squeezing Inukai's wrist tightly.

"Get your hand off me," Kageura hissed lowly.

Inukai did so slowly, backing up with both hands in the air and keeping all four of them in his field of view.

The C-ranks took the hint, running off without looking back. Inukai turned to Kageura fully once they were completely out of sight. He still looked angry, but a more impotent anger now that the rightful targets were no longer there. Inukai gave him a considering look. "Wanna go a round in the rank war booths?"

Kageura narrowed his eyes. "Don't patronise me."

"Have I ever?" Inukai tilted his head coquettishly. It did the trick.

Kageura snarled at him. "I will slice in you into _dog food_." He whirled around without waiting for a reply, long strides heading unerringly in the direction of the booths.

Inukai hurried after him. "Is that a joke on my name? That's mean!"

"Maybe I should slice you up right here and now!" Kageura howled without looking back, not letting up the pace.

Inukai fell silent, keeping his eyes on Kageura's back as he followed. It was a broad back, firm and dependable; not that anyone could tell with the way Kageura hunched in on himself all the time. But that was just like him, deliberately misrepresenting himself as if he expected other people to do all the hard work of getting close. Inukai knew this was why Kageura hated him, but he couldn't help the compassion welling up inside him. Life would be so much easier for Kageura if he compromised more, but he wouldn't be Kageura if he did.

Ahead of him, Kageura stopped, still not looking back. "Don't."

"I can't help it," said Inukai. "I don't mean anything bad by it."

"I don't care," Kageura barked. "I don't want your pity."

"It's not about that," Inukai replied, half-exasperatedly. "I _like_ you, you fool."

Finally, Kageura turned. "I know."

Inukai waited, but Kageura didn't say anything else, just stared with something Inukai didn't understand in his eyes. "That's it?"

Kageura sighed. "You think I don't get it? I can feel your fucking condescension. You're so _sorry_ for me because of what a fucking inconvenience my Side Effect is." He paused to bare his teeth. "You 'like' me because it makes you feel superior, poor dumb Kage who can't even play the game and make life easy for myself. But I don't need to play to live the life I want. You think I don't know that Border only puts up with me because of what I can do? You think that's _bad_?"

Inukai frowned. It felt weird having a conversation with Kageura sounding so calm. "Of course I don't think that. That Border needs you enough to give you concessions just shows how valued you are. I- maybe I _am_ proud that I can 'play the game'. But I don't think there's anything wrong if you don't play. And I'm sure you've noticed, but there are a lot of people in Border who don't play. That's not what it's about."

"So what," Kageura said mockingly. "You're saying that you're jealous of me because I don't play?"

"I'm not that unself-aware." Inukai wrinkled his nose. "I don't have a problem with playing. I'm just saying that feeling sorry for you does not mean I think I'm better than you." Inukai took a breath. "I think you're fine the way you are, Kage."

Kageura sent him a sharp look. Inukai wondered if maybe he was finally getting through to him.

"That's what I hate about you." Kageura turned his back to Inukai again.

Inukai blinked. Then started running after Kageura again as the other stomped down the hallway. "I'll take that as you being embarrassed, shall I?"

"Sure, if you want me to end you," Kageura shouted over his shoulder.

"You can try!" Inukai shouted back, a smile spreading across his face.


	2. Side: Kageura

I still don't know how to best depict Mizukami's Kansai-ben, sorry...

* * *

Kageura prided himself on being good at knowing people's motives. The nature of his Side Effect gave him a boost in that area, and experience did the rest. Though his Side Effect was limited to what was directed at him, just that alone was a good benchmark to figuring out what kind of person they were.

But humans were contrary; despite Kageura's best efforts, they didn't always behave the way they felt. And Kageura wasn't dumb enough that he didn't realise that, no matter what people thought of him.

He didn't hate people because they were two-faced or fake. That would mean he had ever expected people to be straightforward in the first place. No one was. Not completely.

But sometimes, people put up a front for so long and so hard that they became the mask. That was why he hated Inukai. It wasn't reasonable, and he didn't care. It was easy to hate Inukai. Especially when he was smiling without meaning it - which was the vast majority of the time.

It wasn't that Inukai was a liar, crying on the inside and using a smile to hide it. That would be too simple for him. Inukai smiled when he wanted something from you, when he wanted to do something for you, and sometimes just for no reason at all. But certainly not because he was happy - Kageura's Side Effect told him that much.

"It's a service smile, like waiters and shop attendants and stuff," Touma had said once, during a particularly slow lunch break at school, when the conversation had drifted to Kageura and Inukai's tumultuous relationship. "That's not a very difficult concept, is it?"

Kageura had scowled and gave Touma a kick, both because he could feel the scratch of light mockery and because Touma had an over-exaggerated worried look on his face. Touma was the last person he wanted acting worried over his brain.

He did understand. That was never his problem with Inukai. The problem was that Kageura didn't want his smiles, he didn't want Inukai's polite front that he showed everyone. And maybe Kageura hated himself a little, for wanting to be special, and maybe he took that out on Inukai, because he couldn't take it out on himself.

It wasn't fair, but Kageura couldn't stop himself from trying to work a reaction out of him. Something real. He wasn't a cruel man, he knew too well the effect of pain. But when it came to Inukai, even that was better than his meaningless smiles.

That was why Kageura didn't feel a hint of guilt over the words he said. The others were looking at him with wide eyes, their shock and horror pressing down on him bluntly. But it was worth it. He could almost taste the way the air around Inukai changed.

There was a crash and then the sharp press of the smooth floor under his shoulder blades. Inukai's head was blocking the ceiling light as he straddled Kageura's waist, a fist cocking back and then, because that was how pathetic he was, he paused – the fist trembling in midair.

Inukai sat there, staring down at Kageura, eyes wide and filled with terrible emotion. Kageura could feel them crawling over his skin, sinking into the weak spots – sharp pinpricks like needles sinking into the soft flesh under your nails. It felt like the first time Kageura had ever seen him smile for real, a wide snarl that made Inukai look like he's going to take a bite out of someone. Out of him.

The deadlock didn't last. Kitazoe grabbed Inukai around the waist and lifted him up into the air like he weighed nothing, stepping back quickly with Inukai still in his arms. Kagami and Kurauchi helped Kageura up in the meantime – but none too gently, tight grips on Kageura's forearms as if they were expecting him to lash out. Ouji waded fearlessly into the middle, hands up and in their faces as if he thought that'd be a deterrent.

But they weren't important. Kageura kept his attention on Inukai, on the animalistic light in his eyes, on the waves of fury and indignation that tried to suffocate Kageura with their futility. Kageura grinned. "I hate you."

"Stop talking." Hitomi frowned at him, dropping a hand down on his shoulder and shaking him hard. "It's been barely a day since Ninomiya squad was demoted to B-rank, now is not the time to antagonise him."

The words went in one ear and out the other. Inukai was looking at Kageura as intently as Kageura looked at him. As if he finally saw Kageura for real. And then the moment was over. Inukai relaxed in Kitazoe's grip and smiled, as if he didn't even notice the faint tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry about that, Kage. I don't know what came over me."

Kageura tsked. Then wrenched his arms free and turned away. Good things never lasted. He could hear the others shouting at him behind his back, but Kageura ignored them as he made for the entrance. There was no point staying here anymore.

Faintly, he could hear Mizukami say dryly, "Ya better disappear too, Inukai, someone's gone ta find Shinoda-san an' he'll be here any time now."

* * *

Kageura found himself wandering the corridors of Border, too fired up from the altercation to actually leave the building. In the end, his feet took him to the solo rank war booths, and Kageura couldn't find it in himself to leave.

There was a rush of harsh whispering as he entered the room, it looked like the gossip had already made it this far. Which meant it had probably made it to the management too. Maybe they'd confiscate points from him again. Maybe they'd dock his pay. Or maybe they'd sic Azuma on him with a stern talk - that would actually suck.

As if waiting for him, one of the doors closest to Kageura opened, Inukai standing in the doorway of the booth and smiling dumbly like always. In the short time Kageura had been wandering around Border, he'd washed the tear tracks away, looking like nothing had ever happened.

"Wanna fight me?" Inukai's smile deepened. To his shame, Kageura found he had been expecting it. It wasn't the first time that Inukai suggested a match after Kageura had a blow-up thanks to his Side Effect. It was something else Kageura hated him for, how considerate he was - to everyone.

Kageura didn't say anything, just stomped into the booth next to Inukai's and let that be his answer. With the ease of long practice, he set Inukai's booth number as his opponent and beamed himself down into the Industrial Zone map.

Kageura sprang forward the moment the surroundings took form around him, trying to shorten the distance between himself and Inukai as quickly as possible. Inukai was waiting for him of course, they had faced each other often enough now that Inukai knew what plays he'd make. But that too was something Kageura could use against him.

Forming Scorpion in just one hand for now, Kageura dodged the hail of Asteroid from Inukai's gun and jumped up, Scorpion clanging down on the Shield Inukai formed with a hastily held up hand. Kageura let his weight press down on the Shield, pinning back Inukai's hand while using his free hand to hold up Shield over the mouth of Inukai's gun.

They stayed locked in impasse for a moment, Kageura trying to read the emotions Inukai threw at him. Staying locked together long enough and Inukai started getting distracted; Kageura used his Side Effect to gauge the exact moment Inukai started showing an opening and pushed down harder on the Shield over Inukai's gun. It caught his attention, just as Kageura wanted, using the chance to deactivate the Scorpion he had been using to pin back Inukai's Shield and jabbing it out of the knee he swung up in a smooth motion at the same time.

A change in the emotions clawing at Kageura warned him that Inukai had seen through it just before Inukai threw himself back, the Scorpion sprouting from Kageura's knee missing his stomach by mere millimetres. Kageura tsked, spreading out his Shield to cover more of his body as Inukai shot out another sweep of bullets with his gun, widening the distance between them.

So far it wasn't so different from any other match they'd had - perhaps less of a challenge than usual, they had fought often enough that they were both familiar with the rhythm of their fights. But the feelings Kageura was receiving told a different story. Inukai still remembered Kageura pinning him down back in the lounge, vividly enough that it made him try harder at keeping Kageura at a distance than was advisable. Kageura ran up an exposed staircase, jumping off the ledge at the end so that he was once again bearing down on Inukai from above.

Kageura didn't bother with Shield this time, he knew he was too fast for Inukai's gun right now. One Scorpion was met with Inukai's Shield like before while the other clashed against Inukai's own Scorpion barely a centimetre from his face. Kageura bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty smirk and leaned right into Inukai's face.

Any other day and Kageura would be pissed off at how Inukai was fighting so poorly, so overly conscious of their distance. But today's fight was just an extension of their altercation earlier, and Inukai's poor performance was the direct result of Kageura's actions.

Kageura drank in the snarl that twisted Inukai's face, the tumultuous blue eyes that looked like they were about to burst into tears again. Anger and frustration leaked through Kageura's skin like molten lava, burning through his pores as they sank deep like a brand. Kageura didn't even care that he was basking in it. "Didn't you say you were going to fight me?"

"I _am_ ," Inukai said breathlessly, pinned like a bug between Kageura and the hard ground. "Aren't _you_ going to fight?"

"Why?" Kageura asked, relishing in his position. "I've already won." He split the blade of his Scorpion inside his body, keeping one branch pressed against Inukai's Scorpion and running the other branch through his chest and stabbing it into Inukai's under him.

Inukai's face twisted further as cracks ran up it, a different emotion fumbling at Kageura just before he bailed out. Back in the booth, Kageura stared at the blank walls and contemplated the despair he had received from Inukai just before the end. Breaking Inukai had never been his goal.

Kageura rolled to his feet, decision made, and left his booth for the one next door. Inukai was still lying down on the bailout mattress, limbs splayed out and unmoving. Kageura looked down at him for a moment, then groaned and sat down heavily beside him.

"Maybe I don't want to fight after all," Inukai said weakly, not looking at Kageura as he continued their conversation.

"No duh," Kageura replied, rolling his eyes. "You've got no one to blame but yourself for suggesting it in the first place."

"I thought maybe I did want it," Inukai said, still in the same tone of voice. "I thought maybe it would help. It always helped you, to fight it out."

Kageura let the silence pool between them, Inukai wasn't finished yet.

"I don't understand, why- no one says anything, no one ever says anything, how am I supposed to know if they don't _say_ anything?" Inukai's right hand made a fist, thumping down futilely on the mat.

"Maybe they don't want you to know," Kageura offered.

"But we're a team," Inukai whispered. Kageura pretended he didn't hear it; he wasn't so dumb that he couldn't differentiate what information he was allowed to know and what he wasn't.

Inukai's face was twisted up in the same way it was before, as if he was about to cry. But Kageura knew he wouldn't, not for this. He'd given him enough time to be sorry for himself, Kageura decided. "You're so pathetic."

Inukai rolled so his back was to Kageura. "Not now, Kage."

Kageura snorted, reaching out with a hand to press down on Inukai's shoulder and turn him towards Kageura. "You are so much more pathetic than me," Kageura said with relish, looming over Inukai and drinking in the flickers of emotion that swiped at Kageura as they flashed over Inukai's face. "This is why I don't need your pity. I don't need it from someone like you."

Inukai finally settled on rueful, more a light tickle on Kageura's skin than anything else. "Maybe I am pathetic. I don't exactly have time to care about other people's problems right now, do I?"

"But you care anyway, and end up doing stupid things like this." Kageura snorted again. "This is why you're so pathetic."

"Are you pitying me?" Inukai raised an eyebrow, amusement bubbling up and popping gently against Kageura's skin. "Is this a love confession?"

Kageura scowled at him. "Don't ruin it." But he leaned forward and pressed a rough kiss against Inukai's lips. Even with his Side Effect, Kageura couldn't tell which was Inukai's real smile, the shy but warm one on his face right now, or the bloodthirsty snarl he had revealed in their altercation. But maybe it didn't matter.

Inukai laughed against his lips, arms coming up to wrap around Kageura's neck. "Why, Kage, that's almost sweet of you! If you're not careful people are going to rethink their opinion of you."

No, fuck that, this was even more annoying than when Inukai was being fake. Kageura bit down, hard, and grinned at Inukai's yelp of pain. A simple bite wasn't enough to wound a trion body, but Kageura licked at where the wound would have been anyway. It wasn't an apology, he had no intention of apologising, but it wasn't a bad feeling to have Inukai's mouth soften against his, opening to let his tongue inside. It was enough for Kageura to put aside his hate for now.

Maybe one day he would admit that he didn't actually hate Inukai. Or maybe not.


End file.
